


Vertigo

by kuro49



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-21
Updated: 2014-04-21
Packaged: 2018-01-20 07:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1502321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuro49/pseuds/kuro49
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chuck is an asshole when he's sober, it's a little different when he's had enough to drink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vertigo

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for [lazypifarm](http://lazypifarm.tumblr.com/post/81184062483/pacific-rim-chuck-hansen-head-canon)'s prompt on tumblr: _Chuck is an asshole when he’s sober. But when he’s had enough to drink, he gets really sweet and affectionate. No personal space, asking people if it’s ok for him to hang all over them, telling everyone how much he loves then and always did and how he’s sorry he was such a jerk. He falls asleep in someone’s lap in the middle of the loud party._
> 
> _Afterward, he claims not to remember what he said._
> 
> (As you can tell, I am slowly moving all my longer tumblr drabbles back to my archive, so these might look a little familiar.)

The moment Herc walks in, he can already hear his son from the other end of the mess hall, declaring his endless affection for Striker’s crew, apologizing for his crass behaviours in a manner not at all like a sober Chuck Hansen.

Herc weaves his way through the celebratory crowds of Shatterdome staff, shaking the hands of the men and women still sober enough to recognize their stand-in Marshal. A few of Striker’s techs wave him over with their bottles held up high, one of them already tipping her head to his son with a wide, shit-eating grin on her face.

"He’s going to hate you all in the morning, y’kno-"

But before Herc can even finish his sentence, he already lost his right to personal space, Chuck having turned to glue himself to his father’s side instead, his smile soft and content with the world, looking not at all like the scowls and growls of a sober Chuck Hansen.

"...How’re you feeling, kid?"

Chuck holds up a hand with colours high on his cheeks and begins ticking off a list Herc’s never found in the drift, “I ‘pologized to Mako-chan and Ray, and uh, brought the Marshal an extra jello the doctors said he couldn't have, he likes the blue ones, paid my respects to Cherno’s crew, and then Crimson’s crew too, an-and said…”

Chuck doesn't pull completely away, just glances around until he can grab a half finished bottle of still cold beer from one of the crew members standing next to them. Downing it all in one go, it is only then that he has the liquid courage to continue, eyes looking away, words tripping over themselves to get off of the flat of his tongue.

"I love you, dad." It isn't said loud enough to be heard from across the Shatterdome mess hall, hell, Herc could barely hear it over the laughter of the crew around them. It isn't loud, but it is said, and Herc's always known too, hasn't he. _I always did._

Chuck crashes soon after that, sitting slump against his father's side until he ends up falling asleep with his head in Herc’s lap as the rest of the world continues to celebrate their victory. It is not until the next morning when a sober Chuck Hansen wakes up in his own bed with a splitting headache that everything comes back to him.

Rolling over, Chuck groans loud enough to have Max padding over from his doggy bed to sniff at him in concern. It doesn’t startle him when Herc speaks, just that it is reassurance when he says, “I’ll tell everyone you can’t remember.”

The silence from the bunk has Herc thinking that the kid has fallen back to sleep, but the soft _thanks_ that reluctantly comes from the vicinity of the pillows speaks volumes.

 

XXX Kuro


End file.
